Death Toll From Landslides in Southern Ethiopia Rises to 299
Victims of the Landslides in Ethiopia, JUly 2024 Photo: @7News
July 23, 2024 Hour: 9:09 pm
So far, 148 men and 81 women have been accounted for, although search and rescue efforts continue.
Ethiopian authorities reported on Tuesday that the death toll from a landslide in Ethiopia’s southern Gofa district rose to 229.
Related:
Ethiopia: At Least 55 Killed by Landslides in the South
The representative of the southern regional state, Alemayehu Bawdi, detailed that so far, the number of deaths has been set at 229, including 148 men and 81 women. Search and rescue work is ongoing”.
The authorities also warned that the death toll may increase because the site of the accident is a difficult to access with machinery. At the moment, excavations are done manually.
Local official Misikir Mitiku told local media that some rescuers are also among the victims, as they disappeared during the rescue operations.
Gofa governor Dagmawi Ayele issued a statement stating the need for the community to be better prepared to face such disasters in the future.
The disaster occurred shortly before noon, local time, when people had gathered to see the consequences of the heavy rains on Sunday night, and the landslide buried the crowd under the rubble», said an official of the Zonal Communications Directorate.
The scale of events is not yet known. Among the dead were also police officers, a local official and teachers.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: AA
